Do you want to start hiking with kids? Not just any kids, but yours, of course. You are a parent, and your young kids have come to “that” age where you think it is fun to share your love for nature.
Here is a guide every parent must-have for hiking with kids.
Trust us; it is a life, time, and fun saver!
The Secrets of Hiking With Kids
Believe it or not, your kids may be taught about nature and birds and bees in school, but that is far from “craving” hiking.
Your kids are not you!
They don’t have your experiences in nature, they (maybe) love their tablet a bit more, and they don’t think that “a walk in nature makes you peace and calm.”
These are your “things” to solve as an adult. You need to “sell” them this fantastic experience. After all, it is good for them to spend time in nature.
So, what do you do?
Plan The End of Hiking First
Remember yourself after long hiking in nature? Well, you can recall the tiredness and your soar feet. Imagine how your young ones will feel.
Understand that the same happens when you are hiking with kids.
Check your time frame and distance, and calculate the activities and pace along the route. If it is your first time, do not plan for many hours of hiking.
Better safe than sorry. Speaking of safety, ensure you have a complete pharmacy and first-aid kit for mosquito bites, poison plants, a safety whistle, and more.
Plan for small “disasters.” It may not happen.
Make sure you have a reasonable backpack size. You will end up carrying most things anyway.
Kids can carry some, but it usually includes extra clothing, a water bottle, and snacks. They should have a small pack to take their things, though.
Let them carry things to understand responsibility, yet bring extra water since kids do not know how to calculate water consumption. They drink it, even for fun.
What To Pack When Hiking With Kids?
Hiking with kids means burning energy faster than adults.
You need to keep the “engines running”; otherwise, you will start hearing the well-known nagging of “mom/dad, I am hungry.”
They will ask for hiking, so have some (preferably) healthy snacks with you. It is good (as with adults) to have kids have some food before starting the hiking path.
This way, they will have the energy to burn along the way.
Remember that a route is usually a back-and-forth one (if someone is not picking you up at the end). So, calculate accordingly for food and water.
Make sure your snacks/food are not of the “melting” kind since it will get messy after a few hours.
What to Wear When Hiking With Kids?
The base rule is proper shoes. You can work around all other clothing, but that is crucial unless you plan to walk on a flat asphalt road. Also, read what to wear when hiking as a beginner.
Proper shoes mean increased safety on dirt roads, going uphill or downhill.
Make sure your kids break into their shoes by wearing them a couple of times/days before the hiking day.
This will help the hiking shoes become softer, reducing the chance of blisters. You don’t want your kid with blisters (or at least too many of them) trying to walk back.
Apart from your kid, you, too, need to have the proper shoes.
You will need a hat, sunblock, and logical sunglasses for any day with sunshine.
A hat is also needed when it is cloudy, as it may rain.
Of course, special technical trousers, shirts, etc., are excellent, yet up to your available budget.
Keep Kids Engaged While Hiking
Remember, you are doing all this because you find it enjoyable.
You want to have fun. Your kids have a variety of things they consider pleasure or not.
Usually, all kids love two things: adventure and mystery. Plan this hiking trip so that kids will get involved in investigating, uncovering, and exploring things.
If you’ve done the same hiking route (and it’s best to have when with kids) before, then recall some point where something special is there.
Perhaps a hidden lake, a weird colossal tree, or a rock in the form of a giant frog.
Make a paper with elements to discover while hiking.
For example: To find a leaf that is bigger than their foot. To find a stick to use a magic wind or to fight dragons.
The stick can be from the “magic tree” at the forest’s center.
It can be a magic wand too! They will make pictures in their minds. Prepare them accordingly for such.
Choose a route where a beautiful place is at the end.
The whole case is to have fun and imprint great memories in their heads.
Put some “controlled danger” into your schedule.
Perhaps a wooden bridge needs to be crossed towards the path where fairies live!
Have a magnifying glass and let them look things up close.
Rotate The Leadership
You are the leader, but your young explorers will want to jump to observe what they find as weird or unusual along the route.
Let them have fun and teach them responsibility by shifting leadership around while you have (of course) your eye on them.
The leader can “carry the leader stick.”
The leader shows the way while reading the map with you.
It is an excellent way for kids to experience that. In their minds, being the leader on an adventure is enormous.
Each kid can have a role to shift through it.
For example, apart from the leader, the other can be the “tracker.”
Sometimes it is suitable even to invite a friend of your kids to come. They will both have fun together; as you know, you are a “grown-up.”
Do a Scavenger Hunt on the Hiking Route
Get prepared and bring some notes or a book about the nature and geography of your hiking area.
Learn about the different plants and their value for people and the ecosystem.
Do it excitingly.
Narrate like in movies with a mysterious voice, like talking about marvels and magic.
If there are footprints from tiny animals and you can track them, use your book to find out the animal they belong to and discuss the animal.
You don’t need to make a “class” out of your hiking trip since it will get boring, but a few interesting “magical” facts here and there will spice things up.
And, of course, all these will help to avoid the “kids boredom syndrome,” which often comes very fast when things are not evolving fast around them.
Yes, it is for you. Hiking through a forest is usually a serene experience. Kids see that differently.
Leave No Trace When Hiking With Kids
You will need to have “bathroom” breaks.
Many ones, maybe. Make sure you have a set of wet wipes with you.
They help clean up, too, after some snacks or playing with the mud. Better to have some alcohol-based ones and some regulars.
The first is for cleaning up after food and mud. The latter is for the bathroom.
Teach your kids responsibility and what caring for the environment means by not littering around.
Know When to Stop
The concepts of “taking that extra mile” and “overcoming your limits” are helpful when reading in a book or heard in movies, but you have your kids with you.
This means a different way of thinking and a different level of stamina.
Yes, they are maybe whirling around inside your house for hours but set them walking for a couple of hours, and they may end up flat on the ground.
You don’t want to carry them back in your hands, and you don’t want them to nag.
You all want to have fun. Accept the limits of everyone on the team.
Make Memories, Take Pictures
Make sure you take pictures of things and moments.
Your kids will like to show off their adventure to other kids.
You will want to remember a place or “that time when Jimmy and Mary stepped on a raccoon’s poop and Mary screamed”!
Encourage your kids (and yourself) to stand in funny poses or hug a tree.
Nature is an excellent school for adults and kids, and it is good to make them feel comfortable with different elements.
They will get full of mud.
Accept it, take pictures, and keep the 2nd pair of shoes in your car, along with some extra clothes.
For kids, dirt is not dirt but a pleasant feeling of adventure.
Nature is full of dirt, and if you don’t get some on you, how on earth did you have any fun?
To sum it up, Heroes Get Dirty, period. You will clean the boots anyway.
Enjoy hiking with kids as they grow older.
As kids, they can turn the whole thing around and teach you a couple of lessons on having fun during hiking!
Cheers, and have fun.
If you liked this article for hiking with kids, you might also like: How To Select the Best Hiking Hats and Best Travel Shoes For Europe.